Help on first natural body to finish myself
- Thread starter LoxFL
- Start date
Cagey
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I'm not sure why you'd want to finish it yourself. If you think it'll save you money, think again. Warmoth's finishes are top-notch quality and a bargain at the price. Unless you MUST have lacquer or oil, or some color/appearance scheme they simply don't/won't provide, it's more than a bit silly to pass on them. Lacquer can look as good, but it's a LOT of work, and will cost you nearly as much by the time you're done. Oil [insert type here] is... oil. It's a finish.
If you don't want to do the work a wood like Swamp Ash requires to get a good finish, you won't want Mahogany, either. Alder is easier, but outside of clear pine there are few woods as uninteresting with a clear finish on them.
If you decide to go the lacquer route, this schedule works to provide a professional finish. Expect to spend about 6-8 weeks.
If you don't want to do the work a wood like Swamp Ash requires to get a good finish, you won't want Mahogany, either. Alder is easier, but outside of clear pine there are few woods as uninteresting with a clear finish on them.
If you decide to go the lacquer route, this schedule works to provide a professional finish. Expect to spend about 6-8 weeks.
Rick
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Filling the wood isn't so bad just takes time. As for alder under a clear looks a little boring and needs some oomph. Look into one those kit finishes like wudtone. They have some natural clear finishes. My current build will have a translucent t bird burst with 
sparkles. Not sure how to do it but that doesn't bother me. Most of my life I'm not sure how to do things and it turns out alright.
sparkles. Not sure how to do it but that doesn't bother me. Most of my life I'm not sure how to do things and it turns out alright.
stratamania
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Alder may not need grain filling but most of the time its grain pattern and so forth is useless for a natural finish.
Even if you take grain filling out of the equation doing a good natural finish whether you use lacquer or one of the finishing oils is a lot of work. It also ends up costing in some cases more than you might imagine for materials, tools, rags, time etc. Unless you are going to enjoy the process and/or have time on your hands, which you might not if you want to avoid grain filling, it might be better to buy a natural finish body.
Even if you take grain filling out of the equation doing a good natural finish whether you use lacquer or one of the finishing oils is a lot of work. It also ends up costing in some cases more than you might imagine for materials, tools, rags, time etc. Unless you are going to enjoy the process and/or have time on your hands, which you might not if you want to avoid grain filling, it might be better to buy a natural finish body.
rgand
Epic Member
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I've been working with a piece of alder that has a decent grain pattern but I don't think it would be too exciting with just a clear finish. The color differential between the seasonal growth lines isn't that intense. Maybe a burst or something would be OK but not clear.
Michaelga
Junior Member
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I have attached a picture of one of my bass guitars. It was finished by Warmoth. I picked the alder body with the best grain figuring from their site and had them finish it in vintage tint. I really like the color, but I agree with others about most alder bodies have an uninteresting and not very visible grain figure. I don't think it's ugly. Poplar is usually ugly and usually needs an opaques finish. I would definitely have Warmoth do the finishing unless you have experience finishing wood.
Michael
Michael
